


Untangling

by bisexualowain



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Relationship Advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 21:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13644492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualowain/pseuds/bisexualowain
Summary: Silas gets advice from Camilla about how to confess his feelings for the person he loves.





	Untangling

Not even the intense heat of a summer day, which clung to the air and to all who weren’t enjoying the shade, was enough to dissuade Prince Corrin from sparring with his older brother, Crown Prince Xander.

Corrin, not being one to ever flaunt his royalty status, had never asked Silas, his best friend since childhood, to keep watch over his training, or to bring him towels to wipe off the sweat afterwards, for that matter, yet there the devoted knight was, sitting on a nearby rock as he watched the princely pair train.

The dragon prince’s movements were sharp, as usual. Silas noted that he wasted no movements in switching stances to match Xander’s powerful strikes and then retaliate with surprising grace. Even so, the Crown Prince was clearly in the lead.

Every time a blow landed on his friend, Silas winced, though he tried his best not to show it. He knew his future King wouldn’t particularly care if he were rooting audibly for Corrin, but he had his own reasons not to go overboard with his support.

When one of Xander’s blows toppled Corrin to the sandy floor, Silas stood up, having then to suppress his urges to run up to him and check if he was okay. Hoping none had seen it, he sat himself back on the rock when Corrin got up from the ground and resumed the sparring session, undeterred.

Silas bit his lower lip slightly when he glanced at the bruise Corrin had acquired in the side of his bared stomach. He averted his eyes as soon as he caught himself focusing a little too much on Corrin’s svelte, yet wiry frame.

“My, aren’t you entranced?” A woman’s voice greeted Silas, who gasped in surprise as he turned around to face her.

“Princess Camilla! I’m sorry I didn’t see you coming, milady,” Silas said, almost tripping over himself as he spoke.

“Aww, worry not, dear Silas,” the princess spoke, before taking a seat on another rock, next to him. “I’m only teasing you, I hope you know that. But it’s still good to take precautions, because imagine if I were an enemy - I could have taken you out in an instant!”

Though Camilla’s tone was clearly jovial, albeit laced with her usual humoristic style, Silas knew it was no laughing matter. Much like her older brother, the Princess was utterly terrifying in combat.

“Right you are… I suppose I just got a little bit carried away watching your royal brothers practice!” Silas explained, with a smile.

“Understandable,” Camilla giggled. “Both Xander and my dear Corrin are excellent swordsmen. Aren’t their moves just wonderful to behold? I always thought so!”

Silas agreed. Stealing another glance at the battle, he made mental note of how Corrin swung against Xander, striking from both sides as he attempted to force Xander to be on the defense. The way Corrin’s biceps tensed up with every blow caught Silas’ attention, but he then turned back to face Camilla.

“Right! I spar with Corrin on occasion, myself, but I’ve a lot to learn from him yet,” Silas noted, pawing at his belt for his sword before realizing he hadn’t brought it there with him. “Ah… it seems milady would have another advantage besides sneaking up on me.”

“Oh my!” Camilla exclaimed, leaning closer when she noticed now that Silas was completely unarmed. “I realize we need not be armed to our teeth while in the training grounds, but it isn’t wise to be so bereft of ways to defend yourself, darling.”

“You are absolutely right, once again...” Silas said, feeling his cheeks flush, but not being willing to abandon Corrin to go get his weapon, just yet. “I don’t really know why, but I find myself a bit distracted, of late. Ah, but milady probably has better things to worry about than my own scatterbrained moments... I apologize!”

Rather than lecture the knight, the Nohrian Princess let out a hearty laugh. “Oh Silas… none here can doubt your dedication to our darling Corrin, so don’t you worry. I know very well how that goes… but...”

Noticing her hesitation, Silas raised an eyebrow. “But…?”

Sighing, Camilla looked Silas in the eyes before responding. “It’s not good for anyone to be that unaware of their own feelings. I hope you realize that.”

Something about what she had said struck a chord with Silas. He felt her words tug at him as he stopped for a moment to analyze them. He stole furtive glances at the sparring session, still, mostly to make sure Corrin was doing alright. And then it hit him.

“You… you think I have… feelings for Lord Corrin?” Silas asked. Though the words sounded a little unreal coming out of his mouth, he could not deny that there was some degree of familiarity to them. Uncomfortably so.

“See? Now that’s a step in the right direction!” Camilla smiled, inching closer and adjusting Silas’ hair for him. “I’ve seen how you look at him, Silas, and I’m not alone in noticing it... I think it’s plain for most to see that you love him… a different kind of love than I or Xander hold for him, and different yet than that which friends have for each other.”

Looking at his own feet, Silas fought a mental battle against her words, but it was a match he feared he might lose. With his throat dry, Silas faced Camilla before responding. “Is it… really that obvious?”

“A little bit, I’m afraid,” Camilla answered honestly. “Feelings can be somewhat difficult to untangle, at times, but you’ve probably noticed them before too, have you not?”

Looking up at the sky, Silas took a deep breath. “I have, I admit. From time to time, I have thought of… things I want to share with him. I’ve wanted to hold him close and… even kiss him, but I also thought those types of feelings could just have been a mistake.”

“A mistake, you say?” Camilla tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

Silas scratched at the back of his neck, struggling to find the right words. He thanked the gods for a moment, because he could see that both Corrin and Xander were too focused on their training to pay the two of them any attention, over there in the sidelines.

“I thought… I thought I was just confusing my feelings of friendship towards him for a while, is all,” Silas confessed, fully aware of how unconvincing that sounded.

“Nothing quite like a hearty kiss on the lips of your best friend,” Camilla retorted, japing.

Snorting, Silas shook his head. “Indeed… I don’t know how I managed to lie to myself about this, until now. But what if… what if I’m not good enough for him?”

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Camilla tapped her chin with her index finger before speaking. “If you look at it objectively… you’re a young man of noble standing. You’re polite, devoted and dutiful, besides not being exactly a stranger to my brother… I can’t imagine you’d have much of an issue courting him.”

“You… really think so, Lady Camilla?” Silas asked, surprised. “I mean… I suppose that’s not entirely incorrect, and-”

Putting a finger to her own lips, Camilla shushed the knight, before continuing. “Silas, even if you weren’t a man of such high pedigree, I know Corrin would still have you, and none could say anything about it! You are very dear to him as well, you know that, don’t you?”

Nervous, Silas rubbed his hands together. “I don’t know about that… I know he considers me a friend, even after losing his memory, and I’m glad I’m in his life, but I don’t know if he thinks of me in that manner.”

“And you’re content in living on like that... without knowing how he feels about you?” Camilla inquired, crossing her arms.

“Well… it beats making him suffer. What if he knows I harbor romantic feelings for him, yet he feels guilt over not being able to reciprocate?” Silas murmured, fiddling with the towel he had brought for him.

Shaking her head, Camilla replied. “You know Corrin nearly as well as I do… he’s a honest person above all… don’t you think he would have said something, if he knew? I can think of only one reason for him not saying anything about your obvious, adorable crush.”

As if to ask what that reason was, Silas looked at Camilla with rapt attention, his eyes widening when she spoke.

With a determined look in his eyes, Silas hoped off the rock he sat on, nodding towards the Princess before marching over to Corrin, who had just bid goodbye to Xander, having ended their session for the day.

“Oh, Silas! Thank you for the towel,” Corrin smiled, grabbing it from the knight. “I never remember to get my own, but I’m glad you have me covered.”

The moment in which their hands touched seemed to last an eternity, but Silas knew he couldn’t focus on that too much, specially right now. Harder still on his ability to focus was the sight of Corrin wiping the sweat that clung to his shapely torso after such an arduous sparring match.

Silas tried his best not to oggle, clenching his fists as he tried to find the right words to say. “Corrin… I need to tell you something.”

With a twitch of his pointed ears, Corrin took his face out of the towel, looking now at Silas’ emerald eyes. “You sound very serious all of a sudden… are you alright, Silas?”

“Yes… well, I…” Silas began, licking his lower lip, which now seemed dryer than a desert. “Look, I know this is sudden, but I’ve been battling with my own feelings about this for a while now. I think it’s time for me to admit this to you.”

Closing his eyes for a second, Silas remembered Camilla’s words, which now resonated inside his head.

“The only reason Corrin would have to say nothing… is that he feels the same way about you, but doesn’t know how to bring it up. Is it not your duty as his faithful knight to take the lead?”

“Corrin… I have feelings for you. I think I’ve always had, now that I think about it,” he confessed, feeling his cheeks burn.

After he spoke, Corrin’s crimson eyes softened. With a smile, the Prince inched closer to his knight and planted a kiss on his lips.

Nervously, Silas embraced Corrin and gave in to the kiss. He felt as though his heart was about to burst out of his chest, and when he noticed Corrin’s body was against his, he was certain that he was close to fainting.

“Me too,” Corrin whispered as they drew apart. “I’m… not that good with things like that, and I was afraid I was misinterpreting things. I’m glad you took the initiative.”

Happily, Silas replied. “Oh, I had a little help… I don’t know how much longer it would have gone on, otherwise.”

Looking to the side, Corrin noticed Camilla to the side, smiling widely and drying her tears on a dainty handkerchief.

“Oh, Camilla!” Corrin bellowed, shaking his head at his sister’s incorrigible nature. “Even so… you deserve the credit for coming out with it.”

“Would another kiss serve as a reward?” Silas asked, a little embarrassed, but hopeful enough to hear a yes.

“For you? As many as you want,” Corrin asserted, pulling Silas into another kiss.

Making a mental note to tell all their siblings about this new development, Camilla retreated, leaving the pair to their privacy. With a song in her heart, the Princess knew her brother would be in good hands.


End file.
